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Genterre Elves
Genterre elves are a species of elves that were referenced as an element of lore in the Medieval game. Though only a mixed-race individual of the species showed up during the game itself, they have featured heavily in side stories since the game ended. They are distinct from the Starlight Elves of Lyell and the otherdimensional Night Elves that purportedly visited Avani in 1314. Genterre elves are native to the swamps, forest, and scrubland of southeastern Kyth and northeastern Courdon. Though few refer to them by their formal name- most simply calling them ‘elves’- the genterre elves derive their name from the words in their language for “folks/people” (gens) and “land” (terre). Thus, roughly translated, they are the Folk of the Land. Though once they were widespread, with communities all across their native range, at the time of the Medieval game the race is critically endangered, with only one major settlement remaining. Biology Morphology Genterre Elves at first glance look much like humans- bipedal, tailless, mostly hairless primates with thick hair on top of their scalps. There are several key features that set elves aside from their shorter-lived cousins, however. The most noteworthy and well-known trait of the species is their long, pointed ears. A genterre elf can have ears upwards of six inches long, a trait believed to be an adaptation to the warm climate of their native homeland. Their eyes, when looked at in the light, bear a lustrous quality akin to a faceted gem, making them shimmer in a seemingly multitude of shades of their base color. Elves eyes come in bright, pale green, navy blue, crimson, yellow, and amber. Sometimes individuals with brown eyes may be observed, but this is a trait that does not occur naturally in the elves and indicates human ancestry somewhere in the individual’s genetics. Elves are a good deal more homogeneous than humans- they are universally very pale skinned, with only blonde, pale brown, or very rarely ginger hair occurring naturally in the species. Elves are a very tall people, with the shortest individuals usually at least 5’7” (1.7m) and the tallest reaching 7’2” (2.18m). One noteworthy trait that differentiates elves and humans, but is not readily observable at a glance, is an organ referred to by the elves as the “l'épinette.” This line consists of a bundle of nerves along the skin just over an elf’s spine which are extremely sensitive to tactile stimulation. When stroked or rubbed it triggers a semi-involuntary response similar to that of scruffing a kitten or puppy, although far more dramatic- the elf in question experiences a loosening of every muscle in their body simultaneously, usually going completely limp. It is believed that, just as with kittens and puppies, this is an adaptation to keep very young elves quiet and cooperative in times of danger. This is usually a pleasant sensation, although the vulnerable position it leaves the elf in after the fact means that it is usually only done between family or romantic partners. Doing it to an elf that one doesn’t know well is seen as highly rude. This vulnerability can also be exploited by an aggressor, because striking the l'épinette with significant force is excruciatingly painful and will leave the stricken elf paralyzed for several minutes. Life Cycle Genterre Elves are renowned above all else for being remarkably long-lived. The average lifespan is between 300-500 years old, with standouts sometimes living to be over 700. Compensating this long lifespan, elvish women have remarkably low fertility rates, only able to conceive roughly once every ten years, and even that is not always predictable or assured. Generally a single elf couple will raise no more than three children in their lifetime- sometimes, if they are unlucky, they may never raise children at all for all their efforts. However, unlike the dwarves their growth rate is not slowed to match this lifespan. Elf children age at about the same rate that human children do, reaching adolescence between 11-15 and achieving their full psychological maturity at around 20. Interestingly, due to a quirk of the elven longevity, there is a very wide span during which they might achieve biological maturity: between 18-30. This is because at a certain point elves will undergo a process they refer to as “enracinement.” Roughly translated, this means “settling.” An elf will “settle” at the age they will appear to be for the vast majority of their life, which can be anywhere in the aforementioned range and is highly variable from individual to individual. An elf that has settled will remain largely unchanged physically for the next several hundred years. At around the age 450, a hormonal change in the elf’s body will start to undo the process of settling. Although usually not obvious in women, male elves can tell when the process has begun because they will start to develop facial hair, a trait younger elves do not present. Around the age 600 is when an elf will begin to show the most obvious signs of advancing age- greying hair, wrinkling skin, and so on. Hybridization Genterre elves are capable of producing offspring with humans, though the viability of the resulting child is highly variable. Sometimes elf-human hybrids are so healthy that they have biological immunities to almost all illnesses affecting both elves and humans. Inversely, however, they can be born with severe or even deadly defects due to a bad roll of the genetic dice. Dice rolling is a generally good way to describe elf-human hybrids, as there is no easy way to predict which traits they will inherit from which side of their family. They can have an elf’s longevity, or live barely longer than a human; they can be as pacifistic as an elf or much more human in their willingness to get into conflicts; and so on. By and large traits that most half blooded elves will have include ears about human-sized, but pointed, faceted eyes (which can be human or elf in color), and in the case of men, an inability to grow a beard. Culturally speaking, both elves and humans generally frown upon interbreeding between the races. Elves take a stance founded in their ancient grudge against mankind for the decline of their population, and see crossbreeds as still further progress towards humanity’s pushing the elves to extinction. Humans tend to make a more religiously founded objection, though the specifics vary from one faith to another. However, this does not stop humans and elves who care for one another having children together, and over time such hybrids have become more accepted in more progressive places like Kyth. It is presently unknown if genterre elves can safely crossbreed with any of the other sapient humanoid races on Avani (these races being dwarves and starlight elves). The fact that dwarves at least have been implied to be able to crossbreed with humans would suggest that a dwarf-elf child wouldn’t be out of the question, but the vast physical separation of the two races means that it is unlikely to actually come about. Habitat and Population The elves are adapted to a humid subtroptical climate, and thrive best in these conditions. Elves can and occasionally do venture into drier or colder territory, but they are poorly suited to living there and must take pains to acclimate. An elf in a savannah or desert will suffer from the heat and sun due to their pale skin, and must make use of various coverings to protect themselves from burns. Conversely, in a cold climate elves suffer tremendous heat loss from their long, tapered ears, and have to keep their heads covered at all times. Where they are native, however, elves very easily thrive. They are highly observant and attuned to the balance of the natural world, and readily adapt themselves and their communities to live in their environment without disturbing it. At their peak elf cities could be found all across what is now Corvus and Elacs in Kyth, and the upper parts of the Northlands of Courdon. It was not uncommon for human explorers to stumble into the heart of an elf city without at first realizing they were in a city because it blended so seamlessly into the surrounding swamp or forest. Genterre elf populations, once plentiful, plummeted with the settling of northeast Avani by human migrants. Jealous of the fertile lands the elves controlled, and with a fundamentally different approach to living, these early humans warred with the elves, decimating their populations. Many of the defeated survivors were taken as slaves during these conflicts, eventually giving rise to the modern Courdonian practice of viewing elves as lesser beings barely better than animals. Though the sentiments of the Kythians who eventually took root in the elf-controlled territories was far less genocidal, frequent territorial conflicts as well as wars and raids with their southern neighbors in Courdon continued to see the elf population decline. Though individuals still live in isolation or in human cities throughout their historic range, only one true elf city- Nid’aigle- remains as of 1314. Behavior Language The elves speak a language distinct from the rest of Kyth, one that has changed very little over time because of the longevity of the speakers. Known only as "Elvish" or "Elfique" in its native tongue, the language is known for being soft, beautiful, and almost whispery sounding. Most of the elves of Nid’aigle speak this language exclusively despite being legal Kythian citizens. While the elves have some translators, these are difficult for them to maintain because of the relative speed at which human languages evolve and change over time. As such, translators are highly valued among the elves, and generally paid extremely well for their work. Genterre elves kept as slaves in Coudon will, of course, also speak Low Courdonian. Elvish is metatextually represented as French, and when translated to English in a story that features other languages prominently, it is colored with the hex code #67E6EC, which looks like this. Sensitivity Genterre elves are noted for being extremely attuned to the natural order of their place of origin. They are extremely observant, and for the Medieval time period are almost universally well educated in sciences pertaining to botany and ethology. If something shifts in the natural world, they can instinctively sense it, leading to elves being able to predict coming rainstorms and track the passage of the seasons without the use of a calendar. They can even identify when it is a solstice or equinox purely by intuition and instinct. This trait does have its downsides. When something is badly out of balance- such as a flood year, a drought, or an unseasonably frigid winter- the elves feel this imbalance as a sensation akin to an ache or sickness, but at a purely metaphysical level. Pacifism A trait that baffled the first humans to encounter the genterre elves was their universally pacifistic natures. Perhaps because of their slow reproductive rate, Elves have a very strong pathological aversion to violence. This aversion is so strong that early elvish settlements almost revered elf hunters for their psychological fortitude in being able to take animals for meat. The concept of attacking another sapient creature for no other purpose than to claim resources was entirely alien to them, and so the very earliest meetings between elves and humans saw the humans being treated as curious but not unwelcome guests, free to share in the bounty of the elves as long as they contributed something to the community. The first time that the elves encountered banditry and war, they were terrified and had no idea how to respond except to flee. This has led to the popular misconception that elves are inherently submissive and cowardly. Over time elves learned the arts of war from their human allies, and developed processes for training and conditioning themselves to overcome their inborn proclivity towards pacifism. This is a traumatic process, however, and elves who have undergone this conditioning are considered psychologically damaged by the standards of the species. Kinship The long lives of elves mean that usually they will know a friend or family member for centuries upon centuries, and they bond very closely with those they love. Children in particular, being extremely difficult to conceive, are more precious treasures in elf society than any other, and are protected and spoiled fiercely by their families and community. When a member of the community dies, the process of grieving for them is viewed as almost sacred to elves. Because they bond so closely, losing an individual who was part of one’s life for hundreds of years is an excruciating blow. While generally human society considers grief a private thing, and being too demonstrative about it is frowned upon as lacking self-control, the elves conversely become extremely concerned if one of their own who has recently suffered a loss does not seem to be outwardly grieving. Courtship is also a very serious process for elves. Elves mate for life, and once an elf has lost a loved one it is very rare for them to remarry. Elves tend to spend at least a decade living with someone before they marry, because their long lives mean that they want to be absolutely certain the person they are with is someone they can love forever. They do not and never have had a system of arranged marriage. Religion Before meeting humans, elves generally acknowledged the veracity of Divine Creation without actually subscribing to a specific belief system. They saw the presence of higher powers in everything, and did their utmost to respect those powers. As they began to interact with humans and came into contact with their various diverse belief systems, the elves readily accepted all of these religions as equally valid. This was and still is met with a good amount of confusion from humankind and, in some cases, outrage that their given “one true god/s” are being dismissed as sharing space with the larger pantheon of Avani as a whole. Though most elves still refer to a collective unspecified “gods” or “powers” when calling upon a deific force, there are exceptions brought on by the alliance between Nid’aigle and House Jade. Part of the peace treaty forged between the human nobles and the elf city required the elves permit a Wooist church to be constructed in their city, and for human missionaries of Wooism to teach there. As result, there are some elves in Nid’aigle who are explicitly Wooist, though fortunately the open-minded nature of Wooism does not preclude the elves also respecting other gods as valid. Society, Government, and Politics Elves being inherently tribal, they never really organized themselves into power structures larger than a single city. Their society is best described as various groups of peoples adapted in the best way possible to the trials of their given patch of territory. Given these adaptations didn’t usually lend themselves to the formation of a larger over-arching governments, each group of elves tended to govern themselves by whatever means they saw fit. There were some general over-arching similarities, however. By and large elves have a great deal of respect and deference for age and experience; they don’t really segregate their society by gender; and their incredibly long lives mean they don’t have much of a concept of inheritance by bloodline. Canon Genterre Elves Fullbloods *Belial Braham *Gavin Monfort *Anri Hasek *Josse Hasek *Noella Hasek *Amelia Hasek *Bastien Fortier *Harald Braham *Sabine Braham *Peter Jade *Renard Laurent *Genevieve Laurent *Gaurin Alarie *Senta Fresnel *Gisila Celice *Rollo Jaubert *Giselle Jaubert *Hartwin *Councilor Charbonnier *Tiery *Brigitte Partbloods *Sieg Braham *Ophelia Braham *Cosette Lafluer *Estienne Vaillancourt *Leonie Hasek *Keavy Austin Trivia *The genterre elves solidified as their own distinct species in an effort by Shinko to prevent in story conflicts with the Fredrick Arcanus and Kaldora Verdana, both of whom were elves in the main Medieval game presented in a very different light from how Shinko imagined the elves Morgaine had once lived among. *In meta they are usually referred to as “Nid’aigle Elves” given that city is the last of their settlements. And given that Shinko literally only just finally named the subspecies when she started writing this wikia page. *Shinko took some initial cultural inspiration for the genterre elves from the elves in the Obsidian Triology by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, though over time they evolved into something very much distinct from that baseline. Category:Medieval